N.O. Police Returning Guns Confiscated Post-Katrina

NEW ORLEANS — Under pressure from the National Rifle Association, police this week began returning guns confiscated after Hurricane Katrina.
The police department is making the guns available three days a week. At the close of the second day Wednesday, police said only 17 of about 700 weapons had been returned.

Police and soldiers removed guns from houses after the storm flooded the city, and they confiscated guns from some evacuees.

The NRA and other groups sued the city, saying it took away people's means of protection amid the lawlessness that gripped New Orleans.

"Natural disasters may destroy great cities, but they do not destroy civil rights," said Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, which joined the NRA in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was dropped after the city agreed to return the guns.

Some owners complained it was difficult to get them back. Gun owners must bring a bill of sale or an affidavit with the weapon's serial number. Police also are running criminal background checks on those claiming weapons.

Some gun owners found the weapons were evidence in a crime and not eligible for release. Others did not have the proper paperwork.

Percy Taplet, 73, said the National Guard and state police confiscated his shotgun when they arrived to tell him to leave his house. When he tried to get his gun back this week, police told him he would have to contact state police.

"We took guns that were stolen that were stashed in alleyways. If we went into an abandoned house and a gun was there, absolutely we took the weapons," he said. "Obviously there were looters out there. We didn't want some burglar or looter to have an opportunity to arm themselves."

Some owners complained it was difficult to get them back. Gun owners must bring a bill of sale or an affidavit with the weapon's serial number. Police also are running criminal background checks on those claiming weapons.

Im betting that will be the case for 90%+ of the rightful owners of those guns. If the owners somehow managed to save reciepts and or paperwork on their guns to show serial numbers and everything, and are still in the area and know they can be claimed now, they MAY get them back but I would bet that the vast majority of those guns will still wind up being destroyed, especialy any bought in person to person sales. They are just going to return a few to get out of the law suit.

They should be required to find the owner of every one of them and return them and still be sued for damages and violating the civil rights of the owners as well as faceing criminal charges for robery since there is no legal authority for them to take them and as such they were not acting as law enforcement and should be treated at least as harshly as anyone else who goes into a persons home while armed and under threat of force demands their personal property.

Do what thy manhood bids thee do, from none but self expect aplause, he noblest lives and noblest dies who makes and keeps his self made laws....

"We took guns that were stolen that were stashed in alleyways. If we went into an abandoned house and a gun was there, absolutely we took the weapons," he said. "Obviously there were looters out there. We didn't want some burglar or looter to have an opportunity to arm themselves."

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See they did it to "protect" you bydepriving looters of found or stolen weapons, They really are here to help!!